Okay so, the gnarled looking pretty mess below was born from a book by M. Joan Lintault, Connecting Quilts, Art & Textiles. The works in the book connect textiles in all manner of creative ways so I decided to try and adhere to those principals.

I spread out some water soluble stabilizer and sandwiched a bunch of pastel colored fibers together with a few iron on floral appliques between it. Pinned all of the layers and stitched a grid on the surface so that when I washed out the stabilizer, it wouldn’t completely fall apart. I love the colorway and the textures which remind me of coral reef which is why I named the piece “Floral Reef.” I plan on using it as the springboard for an art quilt project.

The apple colored silk fabric underneath was used just as a backdrop for the photo. Oh, please forgive the paint splattered work table mat. I admit it. I’m one of those messy artist types.

This is the first piece from my Craft Book Challenge (CBC). I created the pillow from a design in the book, Silk Unraveled called “Crystal Pillow.” It came out pretty good except for the buckling in the back which cannot be seen in the photo. I think I overstuffed it. Ugh!

Anyway, it was challenging cutting out and stitching the muslin crystal top layer. The best part was finally using some sari silk that I had been hesitant to use because it’s so delicate and beautiful. But, I took the plunge and cut it into narrow strips which produced the colorful spiraled layer under the crystal shape. The background is lightweight denim. I glued a flower cut from some floral trim onto the center.

The year has been full of changes in my creative life. I have tweaked and retweaked my branding. There are some major elements that I will never let go of. I want to be a positive force through design. Adding a bit of magic to people’s lives by creating things that make them happy, serene or uplift their day is something I will always aspire to.

My next posts will feature a project in which I will do a mini work of art everyday using one of my too many craft books. I look at them daily and know that I should be delving into those pages that I faithfully paid good money for yet they sit on the shelves tightly mushed together just waiting for some attention. Well, attention they will get, finally! I will use a different book each day.

Below is the chosen one. My first in the series of my Craft Book Challenge. Wish me luck!

Anyway — the color study exercise is still fresh in my mind. It actually taught me more than just about how color relates to emotion. It taught me what shades and tones I didn’t really care for. It showed me how the differences within an individual color danced playfully with each other and how sometimes those variations did not play well together at all. Also, how textures read differently depending on the interplay of the shades. The mini monochromatic study was fun yet frustrating and tedious at times but well worth every minute.

The reason I force myself into various art exercises every so often is because little surprise lessons spring up every time.

I will be moving on to making some pieces from the serendipitous fabric I created by scrunching random paint splashes.

Continuing with the color studies, mini fabric collage art quilts took over my studio once again. I didn’t want to spend a lot of time thinking over the work. I wanted it to be an intuitive exercise. These abstract quilts are all 6″ x 9″ and have a felt backing.

“pieced”– Gray denotes neutrality and self-control. It also symbolizes security and dependability. Taking those things into consideration, I decided to piece this little art quilt. Piecing is normally done in a very controlled way using precise cutting, seams and paper patterns. Although I serendipitously pieced using no pattern nor precise seams or fussy cutting, the geometric nature of the design kind of gives the quilt a feeling of stability. I usually raw edge applique everything so this was a change for me. The photo is hazy due to camera shake but I decided to post it this way because I think it gives the quilt a bleak quality. Gloominess can also have a seat at the gray table depending on how the color is used.

“just breathe” – Turquoise is next. I really love this color. Turquoise is all about creative expression and emotion. It radiates feelings of calmness, tranquility and renewal.

“sunshine in lace” – Yellow ranges from bright and golden to warm and mellow. It can also be downright sallow. The cheery tones can be used as stress relievers. This quilt is made up of several shades of this optimistic color.

“adventures in purple” – I am in love with purple. The spirituality and power that it emits just makes me feel good when I look at it. It has a magical quality that sets it apart from other colors.

“flamboyant vessel” – Orange is wild and playful, friendly and happy. It’s a color that screams confidence, enthusiasm. It can turn a sour mood into a joyful one. The deeper orange shades reflect a desire for activity.

It’s a new year! I have a new company name! It is now eclectic cloth. I have been honing my art brand and it has graduated into a more fun design style. Textile collage displaying various themes from love and spirit to pure whimsy fits my all over the place way of creating much better than my previous scheme.

Procrastination will take a back seat this year. Well, that’s the intention anyway. I also intend to make posting on my little art journal blog a priority.

I am ending my posting hiatus by continuing my exploration into color and featuring some monochromatic studies in the form of various textile pieces.

This first piece is a study in white. White symbolizes purity and innocence and is considered a cool color due to it’s relation to snow and ice. There are many shades of white. Snow, pearl, cream, antique white just to name a few. Even beige is actually a shade of white. I have attempted to display some of the soft and beautiful versatility of white in the art quilt below.

wish in white

I named the quilt wish in whitebecause it’s a big bowl of ice cream and I don’t eat much dairy anymore — I miss vanilla ice cream so much. It is 11 1/2″ x 13 1/2.”

The Universe is displayed in color. Vast stretches of vivid spectrums of lightness and darkness. Nature just flows in hues, shades and tints just waiting to be admired. I have always loved color. My boxes of crayola crayons and coloring books used to help soothe my tummy aches when I was little — they gave me immense joy.

While looking at my collection of fabric, I noticed a surprising trend. Beige. With all of my fascination with color I seem to have a thing for beige toned fabric. I think it’s because beige evokes a quiet calmness that I gravitate to. On the other side of that is my adoration for purple which has a magical and mysterious quality. Purple is my favorite color but I don’t wear it much and my fabric choices don’t reflect that. Artists are funny creatures.

All of this color introspection led to me to a decision. I am using up all of my paint and revamping my palettes. I will only buy certain colors and use particular palettes for various themes. My crayons, painsticks, inks, embossing powders and other surface design and marking tools will find their way into my work as they fulfill some sort of creative need.

I randomly plopped, spilled and then scrunched paint on mid-weight printed fabric, drill (a sort of canvassy type fabric) and canvas scraps. It was so much fun. I didn’t want to stop so I kept making more and more pieces. The result was some wildly seredipititous combinations that I will use for various projects.

I had been on quite a lengthy quest to develop my art brand. What I mean by that is coming up with a signature style so that when the viewer looks at a piece they will know that it is actually my work. Needless to say this is not an easy task especially since my tastes change like the weather. A couple of things that have stayed true with me have been my love of fabric and collage.

Some artists use the same color thread or the same basic materials and color palettes. A running theme regarding subject matter is even part of some artist’s signature style. Me — I like anything and everything so narrowing down elements has been quite the challenge.

Ultimately, I decided to go with mixed-media fabric collage with a spiritual touch; noting particular constants and basic themes. We’ll see how that goes.